technology

Grandmother sues city, police department over flash grenade incident

"A 68-year-old Evansville woman, who was at home with her granddaughter last June when police in SWAT gear tossed in flash grenades into her home and forced their way inside to serve a warrant, has filed a lawsuit against the city and the Evansville Police Department. After damaging the house, handcuffing the woman and her granddaughter and seizing their computers and a cellphone in a search for evidence about threatening Internet posts, it was later determined that someone remotely accessed the home’s wireless Internet connection and the Milans were not involved." Continue reading →

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Why sales is a hot new job

"In theory, people were all going to start doing their buying directly online. No need for legions of salesclerks. Instead, in some ways the Internet is expanding the need for salespeople – particularly those who sell scientific and technical products and services, which can be lucrative. In 2010, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports, these sales engineers earned a median annual salary of $87,390 (including base pay, bonuses, and commissions), making that the highest paid of all sales categories. In second place were sales reps in wholesale and manufacturing, specifically for technical and scientific products, who earned a median yearly income of $73,710." Continue reading →

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The price of copyright crime in New Zealand? Only $617

"In the US, when illegal downloaders have actually gone to trial, they have faced massive six-figure penalties, like the damages figures against Joel Tenenbaum ($675,000) and Jammie Thomas-Rasset (first $1.92 million, down to $222,000). Now New Zealand is starting to see results from the copyright tribunals it set up under a controversial 2011 law, which allows for copyright owners such as RIANZ (the New Zealand equivalent of the RIAA) to go after users, but for a maximum of $15,000. Turns out, it's going to be very tough for them to get even that amount in New Zealand." Continue reading →

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Some Guy Always Gets Blamed for Lost Phones That He Never Stole Because of a Horrible Location Glitch

"Whenever a phone is lost, people who use location services to find their lost phones always seem to track it back to the same place: Wayne Dobson's house. But the thing is, Wayne Dobson never stole a phone. Instead, a glitch with Sprint is making it appear as if their phone is inside Dobson's house—even if it's not. The problem started in 2011 when a couple came knocking. Then another person. Then more. Even worse, police are sometimes sent to his house from nearby people who call 911. The GPS coordinates of the 911 phone call reveal Dobson's house as the origin (even though he never called)." Continue reading →

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Hackers use Xbox 360 to send SWAT team to family’s home

"A family living near Orlando was awakened by a SWAT team early Thursday morning, apparently sent to the home as a hoax after hackers accessed a neighbor boy’s Xbox 360 and obtained an address from his account. Police said the address on the account was out of date, sending officers to a home where they were told one person had been killed and the rest of the family was being held hostage. Fortunately, the owner of the Xbox had already contacted police to say his game console had been hacked, according to Orlando’s Channel 9 News." Continue reading →

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Are You a Sociopath? If So, You’d Be A Successful Prosecutor

"For several years, the federal government sought to confiscate the family-owned Motel Caswell in Tewksbury,Massachusetts. The owner, Russ Caswell, had cooperated with police investigations of suspected narcotics activity. He was never charged with a crime. Yet a DEA official filed paperwork to steal the property through asset forfeiture because of drug offenses that took place without the owner’s knowledge. Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, is reportedly considering an appeal of the ruling that dismissed the forfeiture suit against Caswell. Ms. Ortiz was the same prosecutor who drove 26-year-old internet wiz Aaron Swartz to suicide." Continue reading →

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The Incredible Shrinking Computer

"It just might be that manufacturers of these microdevices are sowing the seeds for the next crop of young hackers (who will increasingly come from the developing world, as all of its nascent talents are released). Traditional PCs may soon be regarded like the mainframes of old, and vast networks of tiny, interconnected devices like this could be the next big leap forward. Super-cheap chips, ubiquitous wireless, small form factors, open sourcing, and a large and creative community all are coming together to support the ongoing computer revolution, which never stands still." Continue reading →

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Tools of Modern Gunmaking: Plastic and a 3-D Printer

"Inexpensive 3-D printers have grown in popularity in part because they are easy to use. It is not even necessary to know how to create the design files that instruct the device to print bit after bit of plastic to build the object, as there are files for tens of thousands of objects available on the Internet, created by other users and freely shared. A lower receiver is the only part of an AR-15 that, when bought, requires the filing of federal paperwork. But it is legal to make an AR-15 for personal use as long as there is no intent to sell them. And if the lower receiver is homemade, no paperwork is required." Continue reading →

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Massive security hole lets hackers control millions of cameras, printers and routers

“A newly discovered exploit in a technology standard known as ‘universal plug and play’ (UPnP) is big enough that hackers on the Internet could remotely access and control ‘millions’ of compatible devices like cameras, printers and routers, security researchers said … Continue reading →

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France Proposes an Internet Tax

"France, seeking fresh ways to raise funds and frustrated that American technology companies that dominate its digital economy are largely beyond the reach of French fiscal authorities, has proposed a new levy: an Internet tax on the collection of personal data. The idea surfaced Friday in a report commissioned by President François Hollande, which described various measures his government was taking to address what the French see as tax avoidance by Internet companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook." Continue reading →

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